Arrested 2 years ago, Whitey Bulger about to start trial

FILE - This undated file booking photo, obtained by WBUR 90.9 - NPR Radio Boston, shows Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, who was captured on June 22, 2011, in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the lam. A judge is set to hear arguments on Bulger's claim that he was given immunity to commit crimes while he was an FBI informant. The 83-year-old Bulger is awaiting trial in a racketeering indictment accusing him of participating in 19 murders. He claims a federal prosecutor gave him immunity for his crimes while he was providing the FBI information on local leaders of the Mafia, his gang's main rivals. (AP Photo/WBUR 90.9, File) AP Photo

BOSTON (AP) — Nearly 16 years on the run and two years after his arrest on charges he played a role in 19 murders, James "Whitey" Bulger is about to face a jury.

A judge will hold a final pretrial conference on Monday before jury selection begins Tuesday for the trial of the reputed Boston mob boss.

Bulger, who is 83, fled in 1994 after being tipped off that he was about to be indicted. He remained a fugitive for more than 16 years before being captured in Santa Monica, Calif., in June 2011.

Prosecutors plan to call mob figures, including Bulger's former partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who is now serving a life sentence for 10 murders.

Bulger's lawyers say they'll attack the credibility of men they describe as "once-reviled criminal defendants."